


of coffee shops and terrible pick-up lines

by duswns



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempt at Humor, Coffee Shops, Fluff, It’s your typical coffee shop au, M/M, Pick-Up Lines, Shy! Hueningkai, taehyun is whipped, tyunning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27727258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duswns/pseuds/duswns
Summary: taehyun, for all his distaste for coffee, delights in going to a café to see a certain brunet with the angelic eyes and child-like smile.(alternatively: taehyun flirts his way into kai’s heart.)
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Soobin, Huening Kai/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 10
Kudos: 109





	of coffee shops and terrible pick-up lines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fraternize](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraternize/gifts).



> for lau, happy birthday, laura and i worked on this, and it’s kinda rushed, but we hope you like it
> 
> also laura i will bug u until i can make u co-creator

to be completely honest, taehyun isn’t a huge fan of coffee.

it leaves your mouth with a bitter aftertaste, insisting to stay on your tongue, even after trying to wash it out with something sweet or a glass of water. 

it’s a little bit inconvenient, in taehyun’s opinion.

even with his distaste for coffee, he was fond of cafés; cozy ones with few people who stay to relax, enjoy the ambiance, the homey aura the café exudes and the inviting smell that wafts in the air.

taehyun might dislike the taste of coffee, but he will always stop by the coffee shop with his friends.

“i don’t think today’s gonna be a good day,” taehyun sighed.

there was a slight pause until soobin broke their silence, “do you wanna talk about it,” he said, worry in his eyes as he looked at taehyun from across the table.

“no,” he says after a while, “i don’t think so.”

"that’s okay." soobin says gently, looking at the window nearby them before continuing, "looks like it's going to rain today…" 

taehyun hummed, the sky has been gloomy since this morning.

that was the way that soobin and taehyun’s friendship worked, when one of them had a hard day, the other would just be there as constant, comfortable company.

it makes the heart feel light, less lonely.

"i’ll get us something," taehyun says, starting to get up, "you want the usual?"

"cinnamon roll with iced coffee, yeah." soobin answered without a second thought, showing taehyun those adorable dimples to him.

with a nod, taehyun went to the cashier.

there was no line or anything,  _ espresso-ly for you _ is a tiny family coffee shop squeezed in between the other stores in the university's campus. all the pastries sold were handmade every morning by the old lady.

taehyun expected to see the old lady's husband by the cashier, but the back he saw was in no way the person he was used to.

there was a new employee at the coffee shop, one that went unnoticed by taehyun when he first entered the place.

he was taller, broader with the apron’s ribbon hastily tied at the back.

"hello!" said a cheerful voice, “what can i get for you?”

_ oh,  _ supplied taehyun’s mind as he caught a clearer look at the barista upfront. 

he noticed the curly, long, brown hair, he noticed the tiny moles on his face, he noticed his lips, soft, rose-pink, and shaped so delicately.

taehyun never thought he could be so fascinated by a few curls on someone's head.

the barista fakes a cough, albeit awkwardly, to try to get his attention.

"sorry! i-i just zoned out a little…" taehyun answered, a dusting of rose high on his cheeks.

taehyun’s eyes traveled down to the barista’s name tag that was attached to his green apron.

in messily scrawled handwriting, taehyun saw a simple “ _ kai >3<” _ on the barista’s name tag. 

“can i get an iced coffee and a cinnamon roll,” taehyun listed off, eyes never leaving the tiny grin on kai’s face.

"and?"

"the …” taehyun hesitates, “cappuccino with a bit of chocolate."

he heard the barista let out a little giggle at that, "not a fan of caffeine?" kai asked.

taehyun was taken by surprise, how could he tell?

"how did you know?"

he heard tinkering little giggles before answering.

"usually, cappuccino with chocolate is for someone not into the bitterness of coffee." answered kai, writing down taehyun’s order in the tiny notebook. “i guess you fit the stereotype.”

that made taehyun smile; he fell right into the trap and exposed to this new barista a childish side of him, not even the old barista could find out.

“name?”

taehyun was determined to make the other fall into his own trap too.

“nikola tesla,” he said flatly, a tiny smirk playing at the corners of his lips. 

kai’s hands hesitated, incredulity on his face as he looked taehyun in the eyes. 

“nikola tesla?” 

“nikola tesla indeed,” said taehyun. “because you just turned on a light inside my heart.”

taehyun didn’t miss the embarrassed flush that ran down kai’s face, the poor barista looked at taehyun, dumbfounded, eyes wide and a little red in the cheeks, he was certainly caught off guard by that.

“okay…” kai trailed off.

with that said, taehyun gave kai one last smile, and a wink that made kai’s already flushed face, warm up even more. taehyun, at ease, walked back to his table with soobin, leaving the barista confused and unable to ask for his  _ actual _ name.

taehyun wasn’t really planning on letting his little game go, he didn’t want to let the pretty barista know his name.

kai, with a little groan of frustration, scribbled ‘nikola tesla’ on the cup, as he was instructed.

“what are you smiling about,” soobin asks, watching taehyun come back from the counter, a huge smile plastered on his face, tiny dimples popping out.”

“i take it back,” taehyun says, “today isn’t so bad after all.”

“whatever you say, taehyun-ah.”

_ this was going to be fun. _

-

taehyun with his strong will and determination, wrote out a list of names to use and pick up lines to go along with them. 

he got a taste of kai and his cute, blushy cheeks; there was no way he was letting this get away from him.

but, taehyun for all his strong will and determination was inexperienced with flirting and pick-up lines, he’d been staring at his notes app for far too long to be considered healthy, groaning and frustrated that not a single pick-up line would come to mind.

what pick-up lines work with thomas edison? who even is thomas edison? what do you even say about alexander graham bell? who cares who mathematicians are? 

after hours of scutinizing his  _ stupid _ notes app, he had three solid pick-up lines he thought he could try on kai the next time he saw him.

he felt kind of lame, but the idea of seeing a rosy cheeked, giggly, sputtering mess of a certain brunet, made him smile.

-

the next time soobin and taehyun go to  _ espresso-ly for you _ , taehyun insists on ordering because he could see that kai was manning the counter again, smiling at the customers while taking their orders.

a tiny smile found its way on taehyun’s face, soobin looked at him, eyebrow raised in a silent question, but he didn’t prod any further, a simple, “get me the usual,” leaves his lips as taehyun walked his way to the counter. 

the line wasn’t long and kai saw him as he entered the cafe. 

“hi, how can i help you today?” kai asks, eyebrow raised, attempting to look serious, but taehyun could see the beginnings of a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

“another cinnamon roll, iced coffee, and cappuccino with chocolate,” taehyun replies. 

“okay,” kai says as he rings him up, “name?” he asks, as if he were challenging him, eyebrow raised (again), pen poised in one hand and a disposable cup in the other.

“harry styles,” taehyun deadpans.

kai snorts at that, a laugh bubbling from inside him until he breaks out into a fit of giggles, catching the attention of other patrons. “why harry styles today?” he asks, scribbling down the ridiculous name, still giggling.

“because you light up my world like nobody else,” taehyun sings as monotonously as possible, and kai laughs again, hearty and whole, and taehyun might not admit it but he melts a little at the barista’s giggle and little gesture shoo-ing him away.

if taehyun looks a little dazed and a little embarrassed, soobin doesn’t comment on it.

they go on like this for days, taehyun tries to fluster kai for the chance of seeing his reddened cheeks and bashful smile,  _ and he does _ . kai gets embarrassed, he rings him up, he shoos him away, and he calls him back, even more embarrassed to call out the name he wrote on the pastry bags and cups.

soobin tries to ask taehyun about it, and taehyun only smiles, with a quiet, “it’s nothing, hyung,” and soobin wouldn’t be concerned if his friend didn’t always look so dopey when they enter the café together. or if he didn’t hear the boisterous laughter from the counter at the front of the store. so, as taehyun sits down across from him, he sends him a look, “you have a crush on the barista, don’t you?”

taehyun sputters at that, about to vehemently deny soobin’s accusations, instead he confirms his hyung’s suspicions, “yeah, i think he’s cute, hyung.”

it’s soobin’s turn to be surprised, “wow,” he starts, “i didn’t think you’d be this straightforward about it.”

taehyun just shrugs, “well, i tease him whenever i order,” soobin raises an eyebrow, “and he’s really easy to fluster.”

soobin hums at that, intrigued, trying to subtly look at the counter to look at the barista that caught taehyun’s interest. “hyung, you aren’t subtle, stop trying to look at him,” taehyun scolds, “you look weird.” soobin stops at that, going to smack taehyun, but  _ thomas edison _ gets called and taehyun springs out of his seat and grabs the items off the counter with a little wave at the barista and a shit eating grin directed at soobin.

“really? thomas edison?” soobin asks, incredulous, as taehyun hands him his usual cinnamon roll and iced coffee. taehyun shrugs, taking a sip of his too sweet cappucino.

-

their push and pull continues, and taehyun likes to think that he did a good job of creating a good rapport between him and kai, while still creating the illusion of mystery by withholding his name. though, he does feel a slight disconnect, because of this slight omission. 

_ not for long though _ , taehyun’s mind supplies,  _ if this goes well _ .

he enters  _ espresso-ly for you _ alone, soobin opting out of their routinely café visit, “i don’t need to see my friend try to flirt his way to a barista’s heart,” he complained, faux disdain painting his tone, an expression of disgust on his face. “besides, beomgyu and i were planning to play a few computer games today,” taehyun fakes a gag at that, narrowly avoiding soobin’s attempt at murder. “go be in love by yourself, loser,” soobin teases, sticking his tongue out childishly. 

he spots kai, as usual, taking another patron’s order, smiling at them,  _ angelic _ , taehyun thinks. he meets eyes with him, they share a tiny wave and smile, as taehyun waits in line. 

they meet and taehyun greets him, a grin on display, and kai returns that smile, “the usual?” 

“a cappuccino with chocolate, yeah,” taehyun affirms.

“name?” kai says again, a challenge in his eyes, curious of what the older had to say today.

“alexander graham bell,” he says matter-of-factly.

“why?” curiosity swimming in his tone as he scribbles down the long name.

“well, i was wondering if i could try to get your number on my phone,” taehyun says, a little smirk on his lips as he watches kai’s eyes widen, taken back by taehyun’s boldness.

“i don’t even know your name.”

“but you will.”

kai perks up at that, “oh, really?” uncapping his pen again, prepared to hastily scribble his phone number.

taehyun hums in agreement at that, “i’ll text you my name.”

“sounds like a deal,” kai says, “now, go, there’s a line behind you,” he shoos him away with a smile.

but before taehyun could even fully walk away from the counter, he hears a loud, “taehyun-ah,” and feels an arm make its way onto his shoulder, as a way of greeting from a certain pink-haired boy, excited to see his friend, “i haven’t seen you in a while,” he says ruffling the younger’s hair.

taehyun locks eyes with kai, and he sees him mouth  _ hi taehyun _ , grinning from ear to ear.  _ goddamnit yeonjun-hyung. _

“you brat, are you even listening to me,” yeonjun scolds, ruffling taehyun’s hair even further.

“what was that again, hyung?”

“you  _ brat _ ,” he says wrapping himself around taehyun’s body like an oversized koala, “did you miss your favorite hyung?” yeonjun asks.

“no, i live with soobin-hyung, why would i miss him.”

yeonjun squawks at that, lightly smacking taehyun, “how  _ dare _ yo-”

“cappuccino for alexander graham bell,” kai yells, looking directly at taehyun.

yeonjun, confused as ever, feels taehyun tap on his shoulder, a quiet “let me go, please.” he lets go of taehyun and lets him walk his way over to the counter, “i’ll pretend that i didn’t hear your name,” kai teases. taehyun reddens at that, bright red on his cheeks and ears, an embarrassed chuckle making its out of his system, “surprise?” he tries.

“just text me later, okay?” kai says, eyes rolling with fondness, as he hands taehyun his too sweet cappucino, pink high on his cheeks and a bashful smile on his lips.

“yeah,” taehyun says, a little dazed, a little shy, and a little head over heels for the tall barista with the angelic smile, “i will.”

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to find me on twt @yeonjuntrbl and also find laura @jjunicore!


End file.
